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My mothers sister is hiring a lawyer to find their mothers…

Customer Question

My mother's sister is hiring...

My mother's sister is hiring a lawyer to "find" their mother's will. There was never a will. These are half-sisters. The land their mother and father owned is now being drilled for oil. The half-sisters believe that because the land was originally their paternal grandmothers, they should get all the money from the sale of the lease of the mineral interests. My mother's sister told her that since she is hiring this lawyer, that all the other siblings (who don't want to hire the lawyer) will have to share in the cost of this lawyer. We live in North Dakota.

You have lost me as to who is who. I assume that the mother of all these people recently passed away and that their fathers are already deceased and the mother received everything. If that is the case, someone will have to go to the probate court and file to be the personal representative of the estate. That person will be responsible for handling the estate in accordance with state law.

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Customer reply replied 8 years ago

The mother has been deceased for over 5 years and there was really no estate to speak of. There is no personal representative for the estate at this point. The reason this is coming up now is because there is oil on the land that was most recently the property of the mother (since her husband died first and there was no will). The half-sisters believe this land and the rights to any money from the sale and oil produced should be theirs (there are two half-sisters) alone since it was originally owned by their paternal grandmother. However, in the state of ND the rights to the land went to their shared mother when their father died therefore whatever she owned is then split amongst all of her children-- from both fathers. So, the question really is: Do the siblings from the mother's first husband have to pay for a probate lawyer the siblings from the second husband is hiring even when they know there is no will and they didn't instigate the search?

You first state there is no estate and then you say that there is oil on the land. the only person that can spend money from the estate on bills is the personal representative. That would be deducted from the estate prior to distribution. Someone will need to file to be the personal representative. One party cannot do it on their own and then charge the others for it.

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Customer reply replied 8 years ago

But can one person take legal action, such as hiring a lawyer, and then charge the other siblings for this legal action?

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The responses above are from individual Experts, not JustAnswer. The site and services are provided “as is”. To view the verified credential of an Expert, click on the “Verified” symbol in the Expert’s profile. This site is not for emergency questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals. Please carefully read the Terms of Service (last updated February 8, 2012).

DISCLAIMER: Answers from Experts on JustAnswer are not substitutes for the advice of an attorney. JustAnswer is a public forum and questions and responses are not private or confidential or protected by the attorney-client privilege. The Expert above is not your attorney, and the response above is not legal advice. You should not read this response to propose specific action or address specific circumstances, but only to give you a sense of general principles of law that might affect the situation you describe. Application of these general principles to particular circumstances must be done by a lawyer who has spoken with you in confidence, learned all relevant information, and explored various options. Before acting on these general principles, you should hire a lawyer licensed to practice law in the jurisdiction to which your question pertains.

The responses above are from individual Experts, not JustAnswer. The site and services are provided “as is”. To view the verified credential of an Expert, click on the “Verified” symbol in the Expert’s profile. This site is not for emergency questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals. Please carefully read the Terms of Service (last updated February 8, 2012).